Yes, it is easy to handle and great for people like me that are short legged. Bike is a little top heave though and if it´s a 500i with fairing and saddle bags, hard to pick up by yourself if dropped, believe me, I speak from experience. Suggest that you take some kind of motorcycle riders course first before trying to go all out with the 500. Here in Virginia, some of the colleges have rider courses that teach you to handle the bike and supply the bike for you to ride so you might want to check with your local DMV office to see if these are available at your location, and good riding, I love my GL500i SilverWing!